Volunteer crews are making progress on the Capital Bauer Clubhouse project. Please contact Tom Hart ("Contact Info" link) to add your name to the volunteer email list. There is still plenty of work to do. Thank you volunteers!

Capital Bauer Clubhouse Update January 29th

An amazing amount of work has been completed on the clubhouse. We achieved a major milestone last weekend with installation of plumbing and pouring the concrete floor. Two days of plumbing work was done by Collett Mechanical (thanks Jack and Al!). Our flatwork masons, Reggie Flansburg and Tony Myleck, put in a 12 hour day on Saturday to complete the pour and finish the floor. Bonded Concrete donated 14 yards of concrete at a value of $1600 dollars (thanks go to the Clementes). We had many volunteers help out: Lou Maura, Scott Groezinger, John Cortese, Paul Tourtellot, Paul Bowers, Mark Blaauboer, Jack Sturn, Mark Evans, Bill Coons and Andy Faragon. Paul Bowers provided entertainment, and everyone appreciated having Andy Faragon back on his feet giving pointed direction and many motivational speeches - well, maybe phrases. Thanks for making the hard work fun guys!

Monday's rainstorm was harsh on the clubhouse, ripping off the protective tarp installed on Saturday. Kevin Hale re-installed the tarp and Mark Evans, Mark Blaauboer and I secured it with 2x4s nailed on the roof. Expansion joints were cut into the new concrete floor Monday night using a diamond saw on loan from Andy. Tuesday, Bill Coons and Bob Bovita returned to framing the interior and preparing for window and door installations with a new load of materials from 84 lumber.

In a big development this week, Weatherguard Roofing offered to install the standing seam metal roof with materials provided by Quality Roofing Supply. This represents a donation value of nearly $14,000 - a huge thanks goes out to Jeff Thomas, Bob McFawn, and Fred Bogdon Jr. Windows and doors are now installed and framing will be completed this Friday. The roof will be on soon.

The Dutchmens Field of Dreams Capital Bauer Clubhouse is coming closer to reality!

Thank you Clubhouse donors!

Financial Contributors Capital Bauer Insurance The Standish Family Fund TriCity Rentals (Massry Family) SolutionSet Hand Therapy at Guilderland

Donations of Material 84 Lumber Thorpe Electric Supply Collett Mechanical Quality Roofing and Siding Supply Weatherguard Roofing Bonded Concrete Suburban Propane

In Kind Services and Equipment Plank Construction Waypoint Technologies Louis Maura and Sons Excavators Willie O’Rourke, Mason Foley Plumbing Massulo Brothers Builders William Coons, Builder and Realtor

Phillips Hardware Collett Mechanical Reggie Flansburg, Mason Tony Myleck, Mason Andy Faragon, Mason Jeff Thomas, Weatherguard Roofing Tom Hart, Project Manager Very Special Volunteers

Capital Bauer Clubhouse Update January 13th

The roof is on! The crane was on site today and lifting started at 8am. All trusses were in place by 9am (yup, one hour). Sheathing is on the roof and that's where Bill Coons left off today. We're getting roofing quotes and scheduling plumbing and pouring the pad.

This weekend, Saturday, exterior sheating needs to be finished (piecework between the 4x8 panels), bracing the floor joists and trusses, wrapping with tyvek, and general cleanup. We'll need 3 - 4 people to help Bill finish these tasks. Figure four hours.

Jon Phillips loaned us several kerosene heaters today. Bill Foley is looking to loan us a large propane heater. Building heat needs to go in this Saturday at the latest to thaw the ground.

Next Saturday is the tentative pour date for the floor. We will know by Wednesday if this is a go. Reggie Flansburg will provide the mason services for us and we will again need a team to prepare ahead of time and during the pour. Wheel barrows and shovels will be used to move the concrete within the clubhouse.

If you can schedule time this Saturday, next Saturday, or both, please contact Tom Hart (info in the contact section of this website). We will also need a crew to prep the gravel and foam insulation next week which is work we can do evenings.

Clubhouse update January 5th

Just in time for the holidays, Guilderland Babe Ruth was awarded a grant of $10,000 in support of the clubhouse construction project by The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region's Standish Family Fund. This grant is essential for completion of the clubhouse and is provided based on the type of community program we offer youth in our service area.

Framing started today at the Capital Bauer Clubhouse. Three materials bids were selected and 84 Lumber, a local business, had both the best prices and the most comprehensive bid. The bid was prepared by Kevin Hale whose son is playing in the 13's and who has helped us in other ways such as coating the roof at Tawasentha last fall. In addtion to having the best price, 84 Lumber will provide additional material donations to GBR.

The structure should be enclosed by next Monday. Stop in a check out the work progress this week.

Sunday, December 20

The weather took a hard turn against the original project plan with this prolonged early cold snap. We won't be able to pour the concrete pad within the walls next week as planned. We did get the walls up with one day to spare, which will allow us to move to our backup plan B where the building will be framed and enclosed. Once enclosed, we will heat the interior and pour the slab, probably in mid-January.

We had several heroes this week. Lou Maura did not have his heavy equipment available this week - the town stepped in a loaned their large backhoe thanks to CJ. Carrie and Tom got the document needed for Adirondack Solar to prepare a grant application for 2009. Mark got all the electrical conduit needed for the project from Thorp Electric - about 300 feet. Paul Bowers secured all the foam board insulation needed for the back fill operation at cost and Jack Collett transported the materials to the site. Jack reviewed our plans on Saturday and brought the plumbing design up to professional standards and offered to cover all plumbing costs for the project. Bill Coons stopped at the site Saturday to pick up a plan mark up needed to obtain a building material list and quote. Bill expects to start framing the Monday after Christmas. We'll get additional material quotes this week to ensure good pricing. Willy, our wall mason will build the walls as a donation.

Thanks to Lou, Mark, Frank, Scott, Paul Bowers, and John Springer for putting in a hard performance yesterday in back-filling the whole foundation. Foam insulation was installed throughout the interior of the foundation walls. 35 yards of sand was moved inside the foundation, shoveled, raked and tamped, finishing up at 5 last night. Al from Collett Mechanical ran the kitchen drain pipe, cutting a hole in the new cement wall that was beyond our means to do without lots of hard work.

Today the gravel goes in to complete the of foundation preparation. Lou will start the operation today at 10 and Mark, Scott and Tom will be on site at 11.

Tom

Dec 5th Groundbreaking ceremony for the Capital Bauer Clubhouse at Dutchmen Field

There are many people to recognize and thank for the development of the Dutchmen field and its facilities. Thanks to Mark Blaauboer who has been working on this project since its inception in 2001, the Town of Guilderland for the land and all their work on the fields, John Roth and Plank Construction for financial and material donations through the years, Andy Faragon for building the dugouts, to Joe Mullen for the many years behind the scenes and the countless donations in electrical material, Berkshire Bank for their donation for the scoreboard, present and past board members, electricians, ditch diggers, coaches, players and their families who have donated their time, money and energy.

Thanks to Tom Hart, our current Babe Ruth President, for managing the clubhouse project. Thanks to David Bauer of Capital Bauer Insurance for his donation of $10,000 towards the construction of the clubhouse. Thanks to John Roth and Tom Roberts for making the clubhouse plans.

Friday morning the building corner locations were located by GPS courtesy of Waypoint Technologies (Jonathan Cobb). Louis Maura using his backhoe was able to drag the old concession stand trailer out of the way. Scott Groezinger and Tom Hart disassembled the deck. In the next few weeks the foundation will be dug out, prepped and poured. Thanks to Tom Hart, Paul Bowers, Mark Blaauboer, John Cortese, Louis Maura, and Ed Pierce for Sunday's work crew.


Thanks again for making this Field of Dreams a reality!

Please help with Team Sponsors, Field Sign Advertisements and Donations

Guilderland Babe Ruth has a lot going on and we wanted to share some of the news with you.

Just three years ago, we were operating on one baseball field in Guilderland’s Tawasentha Park, serving mostly our 13 to 15 year old baseball players and a handful of older players up to age 18. At that time we served approximately 140 players on 16 teams. Then, in 2006, with great Town of Guilderland support, and aid from our wonderful Guilderland Community, we were able to build a second larger field, primarily for our older players. This beautiful field, known as Dutchmen Field, is located within Keenholts Park, also in the Town of Guilderland. Since this field has opened we have been able to greatly expand the baseball opportunities we are able to offer. Between our two fields, we anticipate that in the Spring of 2010 we will have 24 teams serving over 220 players, ranging in age from 13 to 22 years of age. As the saying goes… “Build it and they will come”!

While we are able to offer our players many opportunities to play baseball and wonderful fields to play on, our facilities, especially at Dutchmen Field are still very much a work in progress. Dutchmen Field currently has no permanent building structure. We presently only have temporary storage facilities and portable restrooms. We would like to build a structure to house a concession stand, announcer’s booth, storage facilities and bathrooms. We also have stadium seating, which we would be able to install once the concession stand is completed. This addition would allow us to offer our players, families and friends a much more enjoyable and comfortable experience at the ball field. We also would be able to offer our visiting teams the amenities that are typically expected at any baseball field. Eventually, additional bleachers, batting cages and field lights would complete the park, making it as fine a baseball facility as any.

All this, of course, takes three things. First, is volunteer commitment and time, which we luckily have (though we always welcome more help). Second, is a great cooperative partnership with the town, which we luckily have. And third, is the money needed to build it all. While we have a good start in our savings account and are working on ways to get some grants…. all that is holding us back from breaking ground is a lack of funding.

We are inviting you to join our team in trying to bring these plans to reality. In our handout section please find the 2010 Sponsorship form
which spells out find various ways in which you can support our efforts at Guilderland Babe Ruth. You can sponsor a team for $350, your company name will be embroidered onto a team’s baseball hats and they will be referred to by your company name all season. We’ll even make sure to get you a team hat as well. You can purchase a field sign for $300 with your company message on it, and we will prominently display it on the field of your choice. Or, you can simply send us a donation to let us know that you support our league’s efforts to help the youth in our community.

All donors that sponsor a team or sign or donate at least $25 will receive a window cling decal, letting everyone know that you support Guilderland Babe Ruth and our Field of Dreams.

We hope you can help. The young men playing today and the hundreds of boys that are playing in Little League, and even those that have yet to pick up a bat… all thank you, as do we.

Sincerely,

The Guilderland Babe Ruth Board of Directors